Outrage in Odisha after gang-rape

Bhubaneswar, April 20 (IANS) A 15-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped and gang-raped by three people in Odisha's Kendrapada district sparking protests across the region, police said Saturday.

Three people, including a vehicle driver allegedly kidnapped the student Friday when she was on her way back home after witnessing a religious festival near her village Kantia, about 100 from here.

The incident came to light after the girl lodged a complaint with the police Saturday, police officer Tapas Pradhan said.

The crime triggered outrage and anger in the area with hundreds of people blocking the roads demanding immediate arrest of the offenders.

The villagers returned home after the police rushed to the site and assured that the offenders would be arrested soon.

The latest gang-rape comes close on the heel of a similar incident in state's coastal district of Balasore.

A teenaged girl was allegedly kidnapped by five people and later raped by two of them at Gopalpur village in Balasore, about 170 km from Bhubaneswar April 4.

The police have arrested one of the accused while others are still at large, district Superintendent of Police Amrita Das told IANS.

In separate incidents, the police said, that two other minor girls were subjected to sexual assaults in the state.

A minor girl was kidnapped and raped by a bus staff in Biramitrapur town in Sundergarh district, while two people raped another girl in Rayagada district. The police Friday arrested all the three accused.

"We are shocked with such incidents. The Police are not taking prompt actions against the accused people in many cases despite complaints were being lodged. People who were involved in such crimes should be boycotted socially," women rights activist Anuradha Mohanty told IANS.

Odisha had registered 1,112 rape cases in 2011, higher than the 1,025 cases reported in 2010. During 2012, rape incidents have reportedly increased to more than 1,300 cases, official sources said.